Welcome to my blog! Once again this silver-haired, slightly crazy woman
hit the road - solo - on a trip
around-the-world!
You're invited come along for the ride as I share my adventures in words and pictures!

Words of wisdom

Sunday, March 15, 2015

ALL GREAT ADVENTURES FIRST START WITH A MESS!

As my May 1st fly-way date fast approaches, so does the time I have left to de-clutter, decide what I want to have the movers put in storage on April 11th and what will be sold at my 'estate sale' on April 18th.

I'm looking at this as a great opportunity to purge myself of stuff and things that I really don't need to fill my life or my next home. Everything from clothes that don't fit; to pieces of pottery that I wonder why I bought; or that really weird painting that I never really liked but still hung on my wall, it's time to sell, donate or dump!

As you can see by the photos, right now I am living in a total mess.Thank God for good friends-with-cars! Yesterday morning Sandy took me, my boy's antique highchair and my set of red & green holiday china to FedEx to be shipped to their new home in southern CA. In the afternoon, Mary Libby provided transportation to Lowes and Home Depot where I purchased a large supply of bubble wrap, tape, and tall wardrobe boxes. I was so lucky to have a friend who just relocated and offered me as many of her moving boxes, of all sizes, that I wanted.

As to the 'stuff' - I have pretty much separated what goes and what stays. Going through my basement storage unit was a hoot. There were bags and boxes of things I hadn't seen or even remembered I owned since they were stored there when I moved to Chicago 2 1/2 years ago!

Of course, I'm always amazed that my collection, or fabric stash is always so much larger than what I think it is. I took the time to go through every single piece, 'rolling' instead of folding the most-loved pieces back into their storage boxes. I actually winnowed 3 full sacks to give to my favorite charity, Envision, but I still have 8 boxes of fabric and at least 2 more of patterns and notions.

The good news is that my apartment has been rented! The very first couple that walked through (when it still looked lovely and neat) took it on the spot. Not that renting it was my responsibility as my lease is up April 30th, but it was nice to hear from the landlord that they fell in love with it because of how I had it decorated. I made sure they told the new renters know that many of the 'lovely things' they like would be for sale on the 18th!

So today - more packing. A quick trip to Andersonville to get my glasses adjusted and look for a good pair of sneakers. Europe is known for it's cobblestoned streets and though I love my super lightweight Sketchers, I learned while walking the lumpy, bumpy streets of Ajijic, MX that they weren't sturdy enough support my ankles, plus I could feel every lump & rough stone through the soles. So something a little more like a hiking or trekking shoe instead of a city sneaker is on my list to find today.

Next week I'm off to SoCal to be grandma to the most perfect/beautiful granddaughter in the whole, wide world while her mommy and daddy travel for their jobs. A little southern California sun and surf, giggles, trips to the park and bedtime stories will be a nice break from 'the mess' that is my life right now.